Environmental Quality Incentives Program

Arkansas 2006 Environmental Quality Incentives Program Ranking and Selection Guidelines

These procedures describe the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Ranking and Selection process to be used in Arkansas for the 2005 Program Year. Information used to accomplish this is provided in other files on this site. The approved cost list for 2005 can be found in the Arkansas eFOTG site under Section I. (See http://efotg.nrcs.usda.gov/)

1. Resource Concerns, Impact Criteria, and Practices

a. NRCS will evaluate the resource problem the applicant intends to treat as well as others that might be present and could be treated to earn additional points. The applicant’s objective will be discussed and practices selected to treat identified resource concerns in the most efficient manner and according the applicant’s wishes. The entire tract of land available for treatment must be evaluated to determine the extent of specific problems available for treatment, even if the entire tract is not eventually included in the contract.

b. Resource problems to be treated and the extent of those problems to be treated will be compared to sets of Impact Criteria established as the most critical to be treated in Arkansas to determine environmental points to be earned by that application.

c. Practices selected also have points assigned. These points are assigned to an application only one time for any practice selected regardless of the units of that practice to be applied, or the number of times it may be applied in the contract. Some practices that typically treat the same problems are grouped together and can earn the points only once for the use of any practice in that group. Some practices are available for cost share only when points are received for specifically identified impact criteria. See the file on state EQIP policies for more information.

2. Environmental Points for the application are determined by adding all impact criteria points and all practice points.

3. The Estimated Total Cost (Cost) is determined by multiplying the planned units of selected practices/components the applicant wishes or needs to implement by the state average cost established for that practice/component. The percent of cost shares does not enter into this calculation.

4. The final Ranking Score is determined using the formula:

Ranking Score = (Environmental Points x (1 + (Environmental Points / Cost x 10))

5. The applicant’s rank on the register depends on how he/she compares to other applicants within the same competition group. If two applicants have the same Environmental Points, but different Costs, the one with the lesser Cost will have a better Ranking Score.

6. Applicants will compete for selection first within the county where the property lies, without consideration of which resource concerns are being treated, and not to exceed funds made available to the county. Remaining unfunded applications will then compete statewide with all other remaining applicants treating the same resource concern. The resource concern for this purpose will be the one receiving the most cost shares in the application. See state EQIP policies for a brief description of how funds are provided to counties, and which resource concerns have funds allocated to them.

Last Modified: 07/13/2006

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